


pineapple parfait

by gongji



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Day At The Beach, F/F, First Dates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-18
Updated: 2017-08-18
Packaged: 2018-12-17 00:59:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11840676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gongji/pseuds/gongji
Summary: Sakura does her best to turn a beach day into a beach date.





	pineapple parfait

**Author's Note:**

> A gift for @r0secaptain on Twitter, for the FEFemslash Exchange !

“Incoming!” A distant voice yells as a beach ball flies through the air at a dangerously fast pace. “Watch out!”

Sakura lifts her head up from where she was sipping at her iced tea, straw still between her lips, and comes face to face with the projectile heading straight towards her. She jumps back in her seat, but can’t flee its path quickly enough. “Eeek!”

Luckily, Hana is faster. “Hiiii-YAH!” She’s in front of the ball before it can even get close to Sakura, and with perfect form, she slams the beach ball with the bottom of her palm with enough force that it propels her entire body forward. The beach ball flies back toward the direction it had come from, speed doubled, and collides neatly with the middle of Takumi’s forehead. “Are you okay, Lady Sakura?”

“O-oh,” Sakura lets out a long, relieved breath of air, and manages to sit back against the back of her chair once again. “I-I am, thank you.”

“It was nothing! I’m always keeping an eye out for you.” Hana smiles brightly, hands on her hips in a triumphant pose.

Sakura hums, and idly kicks around some sand underneath her chair. Hana had been doing this ever since they all got to the beach - while everyone else was enjoying the sun, splashing in the water, or playing a game of beach ball, Hana was constantly on the lookout for anything and everything that came near Sakura. She’d already smoothed down the sand to create a path for her liege, folded all the towels just right, set up the biggest beach umbrella and chairs for optimal shade, scared away a crab that had wandered by, and would have chased a seagull for miles if Sakura hadn’t stopped her - and it wasn’t even noon yet. As far as Sakura was concerned, everything Hana was doing for her wasn’t any different than usual.

And _that_ was a problem.

“Hana, won’t you please come sit down with me?” Sakura asks, for perhaps the fifth time in the last two hours. “I’ve got enough iced tea to share.”

“I bought that for you, so you should enjoy it!” Hana flashes a smile, “besides, I need to make sure nothing happens to you while you’re out here. I’m starting to get suspicious about that big flock of seagulls…” She peers into the distance, and then puffs up with annoyance. “Hey! Who’s feeding those birds?!” She yells, loud enough that from all the way on the other side of the beach, Hayato looks up and guiltily hides a bag of bread behind himself. Sakura blows bubbles in her iced tea loudly.

“Hana,” comes a - quite familiar, and quite annoying - voice beside her, “could you move? You’re blocking the sun.” Subaki looks up from where he’s currently tanning on the sand, his torso shrouded by Hana’s shadow. She laughs, clicking her tongue and resting a hand on her hip.

“And what are _you_ doing to help make sure Lady Sakura is happy and protected on the beach? Looks like you’re slacking.”

Subaki hums, closing his eyes and laying back down. “I have direct orders from Lady Sakura to relax and enjoy my time at the beach. I believe she gave similar orders to you, too. Now who’s the one slacking?”

Hana puffs her cheeks. Typical Subaki, getting on her nerves so easily. “Why you--” She’s most likely about to kick sand onto Subaki’s sun-lotioned body, but Sakura’s voice stops her from doing so.

“H-Hana! Please come back!” She calls for her retainer, and Hana is at her side almost immediately.

“What can I do, Lady Sakura!” She huffs, because running in the sand is a lot tougher than usual (‘but what a workout!’ she says,) “Seat not comfortable enough? Need some more lotion? Are you hungry, do you want a snack? Wait, I packed a bunch of things in the bag, let me go grab it--”

Sakura cuts her off. “W-wait, p-please, just a moment.” She stutters, getting up from her chair. Her white dress flutters in the breeze, and she puts on her best smile, bright and charming. “I was th-thinking we could get some ice cream. There’s a fruit sundae I really wanted to try, we passed it on the way in. Do you think--”

“I’m on it!” Hana interrupts her. “I’ll grab it for you, and be right back!”

“N-no, wait--!” But before Sakura could get in a word edgewise, Hana was already gone, taking off across the beach and leaving sand trails in her wake. Sakura sighs, and sits back down to finish the rest of her iced tea.

The ice cubes in her cup have barely melted, clinking once in her glass as they thaw, when Hana is back, holding an impressive display of tropical fruits and ice cream. “Ta daa! This is what you wanted, right?” The bowl makes a heavy thud when she delivers it to the table, and the ice in Sakura’s glass clink once again, situating themselves where the water from the ice had pooled at the bottom. The sundae looks absolutely delicious - sweet melons and berries sitting on a creamy bed of ice cream with a syrupy, fruity drizzle, and decorated with a flower. “Enjoy it, Lady Sakura!” She hands her a spoon.

Sakura takes a bite. “Oh, it’s so sweet, the ice cream is so creamy! I think it might be coconut…” She motions Hana to take a seat beside her. “Please try some. Did you grab a spoon for yourself?”

“Well, I didn’t mean to, but it came with two spoons, so I guess I can have a bite.” Hana scoops some ice cream with one of the sliced strawberries resting on top, and take a bite. “Mmm! I think maybe a vanilla-coconut! It’s really creamy…”

“Maybe a vanilla made with coconut milk?” Sakura says, through another bite, mouth full of pineapple. “Oh, here, all the pineapple are on this side.” She takes a generous spoonful of ice cream and pineapple, and holds the spoon near Hana’s mouth.

“Is… it okay if I use your spoon like that?” Hana flusters, “I mean, Lady Sakura is trying to feed me ice cream…”

Sakura giggles, “L-like I said before, no need to be so formal around me. Just Sakura will do, just like we did when we were just best friends. And b-best friends can share spoons sometimes, right?” There’s a very odd hesitation in the words ‘best friends,’ but Hana tries not to think anything of it.

“Oh, yeah,” Hana says, somewhat awkwardly. “Of course.” She takes the bite from Sakura’s spoon. “That’s a good combination, the coconut and the pineapple.”

“Heehee, right?” Sakura’s smile sends a familiar warmth to Hana’s cheeks - she’s felt it before, way too many times for it to be a coincidence (and she _knows_ it’s not the beginnings of a sunburn, because she’s _way_ too well-equipped for that).

Hana shakes her head to snap out of it. “I gotta get back to work, thanks for the ice cream! Lad--uh, Sakura!!” She’s just about to leap out of her chair, when Sakura reaches out and grabs her arm.

There is a pause. “Ah.”

“U-um, well,” Sakura begins, letting her arm go. “I-I was really hoping we’d eat the ice cream together. S-so um, please stay?”

“B-because you can’t finish by yourself, right?” Hana offers, trying not to get her hopes up, but also getting her hopes up very much.

“B-because I like you, Hana!” Sakura blurts out, face instantly lighting up a bright red, “And I want to spend time together on the beach, just the two of us, in the sand, eating ice cream, enjoying each other’s company! But all you’ve been doing is being my re-retainer like usual, and I don’t want that! W-Why do you think I asked Subaki to leave us alone?”

“I thought-- that was because…” Hana has nothing. She’s scrambling for words, actually. “...Tanning…?”

“Subaki doesn’t tan, he probably burns!” Sakura says, her cheeks still tinted a strawberry pink, perhaps a shade just a bit darker than her hair. “But I told him to do it anyway, do you know why?”

“B-because…” Was Sakura a sadist???

“Because I wanted to be alone with you, I w-wanted this to be a date!”

Ah, there it was. Sakura’s words had Hana’s heart bursting out of her chest and running those hard laps in the sand on its own. “A date? Me and you? Really?”

“I-Is that not s-something you want?”

Hana’s expression looks like an extremely confused mix of absolutely elated and caught really _really_ off-guard. Finally, it settles on elated, and if Hana were alone, she’d probably fist pump with a loud, triumphant “YES!!” Instead, she collects herself. “Are you kidding?” Hana sits right back down and scoots her chair over to Sakura’s, bumping their shoulders together playfully. “I’m thrilled! This is all I’ve ever wanted, I think I’ve dreamt about this for some time now.” Sakura’s smile is infectious, and Hana’s lips curl upwards to match hers. “So let’s eat some ice cream!”

“Heehee, I’m so happy.” Sakura giggles, eating another spoonful of ice cream.

They spend quite a bit of time shoveling ice cream into their mouths, giggling and laughing at the raised bump on Takumi’s forehead as he walks by, admiring the cute swimsuit Felicia is wearing as she splashes through the water, and exchanging mischievous looks at the way Subaki’s skin looks like it’s starting to burn…

Finally, the ice cream beast is tamed, and Hana and Sakura lean back in their chairs, completely stuffed. Two spoons cross together in a big pool of melted vanilla-coconut ice cream, stained with swirls of several different bright colors from the fruit juices.

“Ahh, so satisfied,” Hana sighs happily, and looks over at Sakura, who looks equally as content. “Oh, you have something here.” Hana reaches out to brush a melted bit of ice cream off the corner of Sakura’s lips, and then pulls back when she realizes what she’d done. “Um. Just melted cream. Got it.”

Sakura giggles. “Thank you.” There’s a lull in the conversation for a moment, a gentle breeze tousles Sakura’s pink hair with a refreshing scent of sea salt. She hums. “I’m glad we came.”

“Me too. Thanks for, you know, making me slow down for a little while.” Hana says, and then notices Sakura is looking at something on the beach. “What’s up?”

Sakura doesn’t turn to look at her, but Hana can see the small beginnings of a little grin. “Hana, follow me?” She gets up, and Hana follows, and they walk over to where Subaki was resting on the sand. By now, his skin is looking pretty red - _unfortunate_ \- and better yet, he’s _asleep_ , dozing pretty heavily in the sun. Sakura looks over to Hana and brings a finger to her lips with a wink to keep her quiet, and gently starts covering Subaki in sand. Hana catches on, and has to do her best to hold back an entire chortle as she piles on handfuls after handfuls of sand. Soon, Subaki’s legs are covered in packed sand in the shape of a bodybuilder's muscles (Hana’s idea). By the time they’re done, Subaki has a thick hourglass body with an extremely large chest (somehow, Sakura’s idea), with only his head popping out from the sandy masterpiece. Hana and Sakura can barely make it to a safe distance away before they’re nearly sobbing with laughter, tears in their eyes, doubling over and making a scene. This, of course, just draws more attention towards them, and then to Subaki’s hot new figure, and then half the beach is laughing as well.

Hana is clutching her sides and wiping away tears. “He’s gonna be so mad, I can’t wait!”

Sakura covers her mouth to hide her wide grin of amusement, “If he asks, just tell him it was my idea, he’ll be so confused!”

Finally, once they’ve laughed themselves dry, Hana and Sakura catch their breath in the sand, digging their feet into the cooler spots underneath. Hana stretches upwards, letting out a long exhale as she does so. “I’m gonna go get us some more drinks,” she says, standing up. “Gotta stay hydrated!”

She’s about to leave, when she feels a slight tug on the end of her shirt, and she looks back down at Sakura, who seems to have returned to her usual shy self, her mischief sated. “Um… when you get back, d-do you think we could build some sand castles together? Th-this is my first time at a beach, so…”

“Of course!” Hana replies, big and bright as always, “Let me go grab some water for us, and I’ll be right back!”

When Hana gets back, she dives right into the sand, eager to start building. They work in tandem almost naturally - Hana packs in a large base of wet sand, while Sakura works off it to form detailed towers and posts. Eventually, one castle becomes two, and two becomes three, and then Hana is digging a protecting moat around their castle community, while Sakura starts to shape little sand trees and flowers to create an environment, and little sand people to live in their new creation.

The sun is setting by the time they’ve finished their last sand castle, and the warm, golden light reflecting on the water is breathtaking. For the most part, everyone on the beach had begun to make their way to the dining hall further ashore for what was sure to be an incredible seafood dinner. But out by the shoreline, Hana spots Orochi and Kagero walking hand-in-hand, taking a leisurely stroll through wet sand near the slow-moving tide. The water gently washes over their bare feet, coming up just past their ankles, before receding back. The golden-red glow of the setting sun makes it look so romantic, and Hana stands up and holds out her hand for Sakura to take. “Let’s do that too.”

“H-Hm? Let’s do what?” Sakura takes her hand anyway.

“Walk on the beach together! It’s such a nice night.”

“Oh! O-okay, sure.” Hana leads her over towards the gentle waves on the shoreline, letting her hand go so she can walk closer to the water. Sakura giggles when the cold water washes towards her and splashes at her legs, then playfully shrieks as she chases the receding wave only to flee from it again. When she’s had her fill of chasing waves, Sakura returns to Hana’s side, hand returning to hers like it never left. And Hana is dragged along for a slow stroll - constantly getting pulled back by Sakura’s slower pace whenever her faster one picks up, which doesn’t bother her at all except for the fact that she’s painfully aware of their hands every time Sakura pulls her back. Hana swallows, heart beating loudly in her chest whenever she thinks about how she’s holding Sakura’s hand right now, and truly hopes for once in her life that her palms aren’t sweaty. Meanwhile, Sakura keeps her gaze on the setting sun, partly because it’s a beautiful sight, but mostly because she’s worried _her_ palms are sweaty from her nerves-- and that only serves to make her even more nervous.

“It’s really pretty, um, the sunset, I mean.” Hana breaks the silence, and when Sakura looks back, Hana can see the rosy tint coloring her cheeks.

“It is, I-I like it here,” Sakura says, “I like spending time with you.”

“I like you too.” Hana says, accidentally, and then backtracks, as if Sakura hadn't just said the same thing to her hours earlier. “Uh! I mean-”

But Sakura only giggles in response, with quick, sweet glances in her direction every now and then, so Hana decides to take a chance. She looks up at the sky, almost as if she’s unsure about herself, seeking courage in the puffy clouds painted orange in the setting sun, then slowly changes her grasp on Sakura’s hand and gently interlaces their fingers. Sakura’s hand is receptive, switching her hold until their fingers intertwine. They both look away immediately, faces flushed, as if such a feat took all the energy and courage both of them had in them.

There’s another lapse in conversation, but it’s peaceful, the both of them enjoying each other’s company, and the sound of the rushing waves around them. Hana looks back at Sakura, finally, and is instantly captivated by the way the golden rays of sun light up Sakura’s features - her hair, her skin, her eyes - illuminated, and nearly glowing. Hana doesn’t know what’s a more breathtaking sight, the sun setting across a vast, effervescent ocean, or Sakura, right in front of her...

“What’s that sound?” Sakura stops walking to look back at the sound of anguished wailing and hurried footsteps rushing towards them.

“...Oh-- Uh oh, it’s Subaki! _Run_!”

 

* * *

 

“Phew!” Hana yawns at the end of the night, stretching out her arms and dragging her feet as she walks Sakura down the hall to her room. “I didn’t think we’d ever outrun him. Good thing Lord Ryoma was there to hide behind.”

Sakura laughs, “Y-yes, I didn’t think he’d let us hide behind his hair, but…” She lets out a sigh, lips curving into a guilty frown. “Poor Subaki, his entire body was bright red.”

“Aw, don’t feel so bad about it. Think about it this way, by covering him in all that sand, we saved him from an even _worse_ sunburn.”

This has Sakura smiling again, just a little. “Except his face.”

“Except his face.” repeats Hana. And that was true. By the end of the night, Subaki’s face was as red as his hair, and _that_ was something they’d never hear the end of (“My face! My perfect skin! My _hair_ ! It’s full of sand!”). But Hana isn’t _that_ cruel. She’ll buy him a few bottles of aloe gel once she’s done dropping Sakura off at her room.

“W-well… this is my room.” Sakura stops outside one of the doors and turns to face Hana. “Hinoka is probably already in there, so I should probably get inside before she starts wondering where I am.”

“Oh, yeah, you’re sharing with Lady Hinoka. I’m sharing my room with Setsuna.” Hana scratches her head. “Though I don’t think she cares about what I’m up to.”

“Um, thank you for walking me back.” Sakura’s voice is shy, almost nervous. “I had a lot of fun today.”

“Me too! I’m glad we were able to come all the way out here.” Hana can’t hide her smile. “Too bad it’s back to daily life tomorrow.”

“Heehee, don’t sound like you’re too upset. I-It won’t be that bad, since you’ll still be at my side.”

“No matter what.” Hana adds, without a second thought. “Alright, time to go to my room I guess, and,” she rubs her stomach for dramatic effect, “digest all of that seafood.”

Sakura giggles, “Th-thank you, Hana.” She pauses, her expression suddenly looking something like she’s second-guessing herself. “U-um,” She begins, and Hana looks at her, waiting for whatever Sakura wants to say before they retire for the night.

Instead, in a burst of courage, Sakura stands up on tiptoe, and kisses Hana on the cheek. “G-good night!” She blurts out, and immediately flees into her room, shutting the door behind her.

It takes a solid minute for Hana’s brain to register what just happened, her hand slowly reaching up to touch where Sakura’s lips had pressed against her cheek, staring at the closed door until it finally hits her. Sakura kissed her. Sakura _kissed_ her. _Sakura kissed her_! Almost instinctively, Hana’s fist pumps a soft, triumphant, “YES!!”

Behind the door, Sakura does the same.


End file.
